The Little Things: That Make Me Want to Kill You
by Sarahfreak
Summary: Ever heard of a love/hate relationship? Well this personifies the way Reever and Komui feel about each other. Follow our scientists as they proceed to drive each other insane!
1. The Beginning

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** Ever heard of a love/hate relationship? Well this personifies the way Reever and Komui feel about each other. Follow our scientists as they proceed to drive each other insane!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin* Thanks to blumarshin & Momosportif for looking over this for me…Now onto the story…

* * *

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

The War was over.

That fact in itself was enough to rock the very foundations of Komui's existence. The final battle against the Earl and the clan of Noah had ended with surprisingly few casualties just less than two years previous, though that isn't to say that there weren't serious injuries among the victorious survivors. His precious Lenalee, Lavi, Kanda and Allen all required surgery, intensive care, and several months recuperation before they were even allowed to leave the infirmary. The generals, Miranda, Krowry, and Marie had also been forced into bed rest. Never, not in a thousand years, would Komui forget Cross Marian clothed in a hospital smock, not smoking, and not drinking, under pain of death if he pursued his usual hobbies from the head matron herself.

Sighing slightly Komui smirked as he remembered the two years after the final battle. Although they had defeated their enemy it still took them a substantial amount of time to locate all remaining akuma, as well as any of the Earl's supporters who may have held contingency plans should the Noah fall. All those that were able to detect akuma were shipped to all parts of the globe with elimination teams and soon very few, if any, akuma remained.

It was then that the announcement of the disbandment of the Dark Order was given with all remnants to be protected by the Levier Clan should the Earl ever return. The last order given to all exorcists was to keep, but conceal, their innocence, and destroy any akuma should they encounter them. So they were still tied to the duty and burden of an exorcist but they were now free to live their life without the shadow of the Vatican breathing down their neck.

During the pack up of the main headquarters they had made sure to spend as much time as humanely possible with each other. Lenalee dragged the boys (to his great dismay) on impromptu shopping trips, the science department actually had a day off and spend the better part of it roasting food over a bonfire constructed from now 'unnecessary' paperwork, feasts, bar trips, and actually sharing Christmas together were priceless memories made. Those days between the declaration of the orders disbanding and the final pack up had been filled with laughter and love, even with the prospect of their eminent separation hanging over them.

Just over two weeks ago more than three quarters of the Dark Order were finally given their order of leave, and that was when the goodbyes began. Most returned to family they had left behind; those who didn't have family were allocated housing and jobs by the Vatican. It seems that the sacrifices made by everyone were finally been repaid. All that was left of an order that had existed for over a century was a skeleton crew of former department heads and leaders, all of whom would be dismissed after the last of the pack up procedures were completed.

Komui made his way down the now empty halls of the Order towards his soon to be first (and hopefully last) office. Sighing again he entered the science division department, visions of pillars of papers and half-dead subordinates flashed before his eyes before fading to an empty chasm. In the centre of the bare room was one man mechanically storing 'vital' files one by one into a line of boxes. Frowning slightly Komui watched the man he had worked with (or more like tortured) for the better part of ten years. The strange thing was that every action was laced with sadness, which was opposite to the anger he expected for dumping work on Reever again. Every line on his face looked like it had been carved out of stone and the once crystal clear blue eyes had turned to a stormy grey.

After hearing said object-of-his-observation let loose an almighty sigh Komui decided enough was enough, creeping up behind his unaware victim and yelling an earth shattering "REEVER-honcho!"

The bizarre thing was the man didn't even react; he just kept packing the papers pile by pile. Growling lowly under his breath but far from beaten, Komui proceeded to add rhythmic poking along with the sing-song tune he had created out of the mans name (example: "Reever" *poke* "Reever, Reever" *poke, poke*…). After still not receiving a response he threw his arms in exasperation before taking his ex second-in-command by the shoulders and shaking…hard…Said man finally reacted with a somewhat dazed look, hands still moving to collect the next pile. Komui watched on amused as Reever spent the next minute trying to work out where he was but his amusement was quickly erased when awareness returned to Reever's face and his expression crumbled.

Something was troubling the man, and it had taken Komui until now to notice. Regardless of what people thought, Komui was not as stupid as he sometimes (okay, mostly) acted. He always knew his subordinates were at their limits and always had a suitable Komurin for the occasion (nothing like a little destruction and the threat of certain death to put a skip back in ones step…okay limp…whichever!), however, it seems the Australian had found a way around his watchful eye. Running all possible reasons for the mans depression (which is what he had finally decided to label it) he settled for a few before being interrupted by a rather timid "Supervisor?" (Another thing out of character for the Australian, he was anything but timid). Shaking his head from side to side as if to clear it, he decided to ask point blank what was out of wack with his former section chief (after all, subtly was never really something he used or cared for…prime examples being giant drills and building-wrecking robots).

He knew that he had chosen the wrong course when the other mans face seemed to freeze over, reconstructing itself into the mask he now recognise from the past two weeks…and then he smiled, the type of smile that the whole world knew was fake but chose to ignore. The denial of something amiss was complete with a weak chuckle, accompanied by Reever's own hands travelling to dislodge the Supervisor's from their perch on his shoulders. This only served to annoy the Chinese man, who tightened his grip to an almost painful vice, silently willing the man across from him to let him know. After the ten years they had spent working towards an unimaginable goal, while sharing the burden of command, he'd be damned if he let this go.

Shaking the man again, as if to try and snap him out of it, he slowly shuffled the man to the worn out couch still placed in front of his desk (they were scheduled to be moved later that day) and issued a stern, "Tell Me,' before seating himself on the edge of his desk across from Reever. Acting not unlike a child about to be lectured by his parents, Reever refused to meet his Supervisor's eyes, as a grimace of pain fought for dominance over his stony expression. Finally exhaling in frustration after ten minutes ticked by, Komui crouched down to the Australian, tipping his chin up to meet his eyes, again uttering a quiet a firm, "Tell Me". Under the eye contact Reever's last escape from the impending confrontation disappeared, and the man seemed to shatter in front of him, small tremors shook his frame, and he grit his teeth in an attempt to contain himself. Komui could only watch in fascinated horror, as Reever broke down for the second time in their long friendship. Swirling blue were smudged with grief, sadness, loss, pain, and guilt? So much raw emotion leaked from the man that Komui almost staggered at the overload.

The silence was broken with a raspy version of the voice he was used to following paperwork and the mans special brand of persuasion (aka tying up a certain Supervisor and hanging him from the ceiling until he caved and did his duty).

"I am alone…" was the simple statement but it only seemed to weigh the man down further as the stopper on the bottle of his words broke and he raced on as if stopping would remove his will to speak again.

"I have no relations…no purpose…and no reason to continue doing anything, anymore. My parents have been avenged with the Earl's defeat, the Order is closing down and my family…the one I've made here, is being ripped from me. Why?!? Why does it have to end?" Reever's eyes now shone with a slight madness, teeth bared as he glared at the Chinese man, willing him to understand. Komui could only blink as the man continued his rant.

"And you know what makes it even worse? I actually wish we could go back to before the war ended…can you believe I would prefer to watch people die…lives be destroyed, just so I can be happy? How selfish is that?" Tears of frustration welled up in the corners of Reever's eyes and the tremors evolved into a full-bodied quake as the desperation to convey his message dissolved into anxiety.

"Damn it Komui, I already miss them, how the hell am I going to survive the rest of my life if I can't handle two weeks? Do I even deserve to be happy when I think like that?" his tirade over, breath drawn in gasps, he shook his chin from Komui's grasp and resumed his stare off with the ground.

Komui was sure he was doing a pretty accurate impression of a goldfish at that moment. Sure, the last time Reever had a breakdown he'd taken his Supervisor hostage as an act of rebellion against the Vatican, but he hadn't yelled, just quietly dissolved and shared his suffering. This Reever was far from the calm, controlled and levelheaded man he had come to know in his time working with the Australian. He didn't think a hug would suffice this time; it was more then likely he would get a punch in the face in return, with this somewhat drastic change to aforementioned section chief's behaviour.

After racking his brain for some way to help his friend…some way to offer at least some level of comfort to this man, a small idea made itself known before rapidly growing to a nagging undeniable solution. Rolling it around and observing it from all angles, a small smile crawled onto his face as he gave it his stamp of approval. Bringing his hands up once again he placed his left hand on Reever's shoulder and the right tilted the other mans chin. Taking a deep breath, whilst keeping his smile, he uttered a simple,

"How good is your Chinese?"

That obviously threw the Australian for a loop because all he got was a slightly blank 'huh?' expression in return. The grin grew wider on his face as he decided to tease Reever just a little more before getting to the point.

"Well I've heard you're quite good at linguistics, and I wanted to know, how good is your Chinese?"

Confusion still remained but irritation also joined the party as Reever recognised the evasion of the main point.

"Enough to get by…Why?"

Komui snickered and then replied in a blasé manner,

"Well after the order is completely closed Lenalee and myself will before heading back to our homeland to live and…" he trailed off tantalizingly close to his offer, teeth now showing in his growing glee.

"AND WHAT?" the Australian snarled.

"Now, now, Reever try and contain yourself," he tittered before quickly returning to his proposal when he saw murderous intent invade his victims face.

"Okay, no need to get so angry. I was going to say…'and I want to know whether you'd like to come with us?'"

He took a good look at the man and suppressed his laugh as the irritation and murderous intent shifted back to confusion.

"You want me to live with you? In China?"

"Well yes, you'd have to earn your keep, and most important of all…KEEP YOUR HANDS OF MY PRECIOUS LENALEE!" the end of his sentence was punctuated with a rather dramatic rise in pitch and accompanying waving arms (almost whacking Reever in the process as well).

"一个家, 一个家庭, 与你呢?" (A home, a family, with you?)

"是" (Yes)

Komui watched with relief as the offer finally sunk in and the burden seemed to evaporate from the Australian's entire frame. The stormy grey cleared to their crystal blue and met purple, asking once again a silent 'really?' in a rare bout of thickheadedness.

Komui nodded with a grin and almost laughed aloud as the transformation was completed. With that confirmation Reever proceeded to grin hugely and give his ex-supervisor a quick hug before cheerfully voicing, 'well we better get this work done so we can go home!' complete with a well practiced 'and-you-better-do-your-share-or-suffer-the-consequences' glare. Komui dramatically sighed whilst dragging himself towards the yet to be filed paperwork. Yes, he would finally be going home with Lenalee to China very soon and he would be bringing a very nice souvenir from his time at the Dark Order. Yes, life didn't get much better then this!

**To Be Continued in Chapter Two - 'Collection'**

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**A/N** If you've made it the end **Thank You** for reading and I hope you liked it. This has been my little pet project for a while now…a nagging idea that has finally made it onto paper. 'The Little Things (That make me want to kill you)' is going to be a drabble(ish) series of chapters featuring Reever and Komui, in no particular order, and with no set update schedule (I'm not good at that). Oh and I apologise if the Chinese is wrong, I fed the sentence straight into a translator...Please review and tell me what you think…


	2. Collections

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** Ever heard of a love/hate relationship? Well this personifies the way Reever and Komui feel about each other. Follow our scientists as they proceed to drive each other insane!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin* Thanks to blumarshin & Momosportif for looking over this for me…Now onto the story…

**...**

**Chapter Two: Collection**

Reever stifled another sigh of frustration as he waded through the expanse of boxes that littered the room at random intervals. Packing and unpacking all the items he had laboured weeks to sort and store was slowly, but surely, wearing dangerously thin. Although he had agreed to travel with his former Supervisor and sister to their homeland, they had yet to leave due to some 'last minute' commands issued by the Order. It seemed the Vatican was going to hold on just that little bit longer to his ticket to a new life as the organisation of records for the past one-hundred years of fighting apparently translated to holding the branch heads captive until thy were completed and sealed. Reever had found it somewhat ironic that the higher-ups had decreed that the Supervisors presence was necessary to this process, as the man had failed to complete even half of the paperwork presented to him in his stint as leader of the European Branch. Still, it all equated down to the fact that both himself and Lenalee were stuck in London until everything finally ended. This meant they had all moved into a smallish house, found semi-temporary jobs, and started the agonising process of waiting for their freedom to be granted.

This all brought him back to his current predicament. Reever had nothing to do. He had found himself a job as a lecturer at one of the local universities; unfortunately he was only required to be on campus for three out of five workdays, that, paired with the fact he has no hobbies or interests outside his area of expertise, almost guaranteed boredom of colossal proportions on his four days off. His usual routine was, of course, studded with the cheerful greetings from the littlest Lee, the dragging of the oldest Lee to work everyday, and the warmth he felt belonging in this manufactured family, but that didn't change the fact that he was bored. Thus why he had resorted to unpacking their belongings.

It was an almost futile endeavour however, as there was nowhere near enough room to house the many boxes contents. Lenalee's boxes had been forbidden from being opened by the sister-complex (though there were very few to begin with), and the necessities were already unpacked, so all that were left was the rather ominous looking miscellaneous boxes that had actually been packed by the purple-haired menace himself (denoted by the stupid pink rabbit that adorned the mans favourite coffee mug). Reever had already had his hair turned every colour of the rainbow, grown an assortment of animal appendages (including a cats tail and ears), and found himself advanced to the age of an eighty-year-old...and all because of his stupid curiosity and boredom. Which is what had driven him to stand in front of a box tucked away discreetly in the corner of the room, or rather it would've been discreet if it wasn't for the bright yellow tape proclaiming 'KEEP OUT!', 'DANGER' and 'TOXIC SUBSTANCE' binding said box closed. The fact that it also had a warning to keep Reever away (stated in bold: REEVER WENHAM FORBIDDEN on the side) from the box itself was more then enough incentive for him to pull out his flick knife and cut his way in…after all, when had the stupid Chinese ever listened to something he told him not to do? It was time to return the favour.

Several explosions and chemical spills later, Reever had finally finished breaking into the box, a thin film of sweat dotting his brow as a testament to his intense concentration (who knew it was possible to so thoroughly booby-trap a cardboard box?). Hands shaking he pulled back the flaps one by one and leaned forward to view the contents of the Supervisors secret. What awaited him was something of a disappointment since all that greeted him was a neatly stacked pile of white lab coats sealed in plastic bags…no explosions or deformed robots on the rampage…just simple lab coats. Each one was labelled neatly with a date via a sticker on the top-left corner of each bag and sorted into two piles of fifteen or so, which was somewhat out of place in Komui's usually unorganised world.

Intrigued, Reever pulled out the top three coats and examined them from every angle, observing their size, quality and condition before comparing their documented dates with important events he could recall occurring during their time at the order. Coming up with nothing, he proceeded to pull them all from the box and lay them out in a line by chronological order (oldest to the most recent). All were the same size and cut (typical of the standard uniform required of Black Order scientists), but were in various degrees of ruin. Frowning he noted the charred sleaves on one coat, the coffee stains of another, and finally the last, but by far the most pristine coat in this 'collection' of sorts, before something clicked.

**...**

_Today had been one of the worst days of his entire life! Reever wasn't always this dramatic, but it had just been one thing after another and now he faced the arduous task of forcing…no sorry 'asking'…his Supervisor to complete some vital documents that needed to be turned in by that very evening. Not a second after the words left his mouth did he find himself with an armful of hysterically bawling Supervisor. Elegant hands making what was most likely irreversible creases in what __was__ one of Reever's favourite lab coats (Until now that is). Finally surrendering himself to the inevitable he shrugged off his (ex)favourite coat and relinquished it to his boss, who held it to his chest like some sick rendition of a three-year-old girl and her dolly. _

_He was left standing in a slightly rumpled blue dress shirt and tie, brown slacks and polished shoes, somewhat missing the familiar weight of one of the last shields he had against the cause of all his problems since the beginning of his stay at the Black Order. Sighing in frustration he stalked over to his desk and pulled out another lab coat, the third one in as many weeks, and shrugged it on with little cheer (failing to notice the evil grin that invaded the purple-haired mans face). Turning to face his sobbing Superior (he certainly knew how to put on the theatrics) he squared his shoulders and clutched the papers to his chest in determination. He would get those papers signed no matter what the older man threw at him…_

**...**

The fact of the matter was Reever never did get that work done and the date of the deadline was forever seared into his mind. Of course, the Supervisor had somehow wiggled his way out of that one, but Reever had suffered…terribly. Snarling at the memory his eyes travelled to the applicable date, and sure enough a slightly rumpled coat with a Bunsen burner scorch mark on the sleeve, and creases on the front sat sealed innocently on the floor. These weren't just lab coats! They were his lab coats!

Stupefied into silence he intently surveyed the line of coats, memories flashing in front of his eyes as he again processed each date with the newly acquired data. The first lab coat had been confiscated to check for weapons when he held the Supervisor hostage [Read Bronze Burnished Bangs for this story], the second from a lab fire that had him bed bound for two weeks…almost ten years worth of his life was carefully preserved at his feet. The anger that had been delayed by the shock/surprise slowly started to curl its grip around his mind…There were at least thirty coats! Thirty! And every one of them had ended up in some wacked-up shrine in the Supervisors cupboard [A/N I know…very 'Hey Arnold'] before being packed into this box. It was more then a little creepy.

Despite his every intention to stay angry enough to beat some sense into the other man when he came home, Reever instead found himself drowning in the little moments each piece of cloth embodied. A ripped coat caught his eye and he was reminded of his rather cliché rescue, via Komui, from face planting after tripping with a pile of papers. While he had been grateful for the save, it hadn't erased the fact that his coat had ripped from cuff to shoulder and the paperwork he had spent hours sorting had spread from one end of the hall to the other. He grinned to himself as he remembered stiffly thanking his 'saviour' then proceeding to rip off his coat, step on it thoroughly, and storm off for some soothing soda (or something stronger).

Some coats were from good times, stained from parties, outings and Christmas. Others told of pain and loss, these represented by the slightly bloodied coat from the invasion of the Order by Lulabell, Tupp's death, and the old headquarters demise. Komui had not only chosen to remember each event, but had used Reever as a marker for the past. In a way it was almost an honour. Chuckling at his bizarre friend he began to pile them back into the box one by one. Smiles, frowns and sniffles accompanied each one back into the box until finally it sat, resealed and returned to its original home in the dark corner.

Standing up slowly and ignoring the symphony of cracks and pops as he stretched, Reever made his way towards the kitchen (it was his turn to cook tonight) to prepare for the return of his family. Though he'd decided he wouldn't call Komui out on this one (yet), he couldn't resist the leverage he would have in the future 'discussions' about the mans obsessive tendencies. Humming under his breathe he gathered the ingredients together and the smirk on his face evened out into an easy smile. No, he wouldn't berate the man, because in his bottom draw known only to Reever, was a small box, housing his own little secret in the form of a slightly battered white beret.

**...**

**To Be Continued in Chapter Three - 'Rescue'**

**A/N** Yay! I finally got another chapter up for this story! It's amazing how much writing you can get done after four months of writers block! Thank you for reading! Though Reever and the Lee's haven't left England yet, I couldn't resist writing this one down since the flashback section has been written for over a year now *grin* I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll come back for the next one when it is posted. Tell me what you think! Your reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated...

PS Sorry if there's any mistakes, I've been over it couple of times but may have missed something...


	3. Rescue

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** The war is over and everyone has gone their separate ways…everyone except a certain purple-haired psychotic scientist, his beloved sister, and an unfortunate overworked former science section leader. How will Reever survive living with the man that has been the bane of his existence for over ten years? Read to find out!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin*

Thanks to Momosportif for their continued support and love for this awesome pair, and to all my lovely reviewers who have left comments for both my chapters, THANK YOU!!!: Solo Loco Ellingson-Rose, Momos, , The Light's Refrain, Mikatsuki-no-Arashi and blumarshin that means you!

**Edit: Thank you to Mikatsuki-no-Arashi & The Light's Refrain for pointing out my mistakes...it helps a lot...THANK YOU!**

…

**Chapter Three: Rescue**

Have you ever had one of those days where you can't do anything right? When you slice yourself on every pointy object, smash you elbow into every blunt edge, and stub your toe on the corner of every doorway? Well congratulations! You know exactly how Reever's day is going so far…

In the space of a mere two hours since he got up that morning he had cracked his toe on the bed, scalded himself in the shower (though he strongly suspected someone flushed the toilet!), cut himself shaving, and sliced his finger instead of the shallots he was dicing for the breakfast omelette. In short he was having a very (the underline is warranted!) bad day and it didn't look to be getting any better any time soon.

For once 'everyone' (though that was only comprised of the Lee's and himself) was at home for the entire day, and they had decided to pack up some items to post ahead of themselves when they left for China in a few days time. As it had turned out, when Lenalee had been taken from him as a very young child, Komui had decided to pursue a position at the Black Order, leaving the upkeep and maintenance of the Lee household to a family friend. The death of his parent's had left him more then enough income to cover the many long years he'd been chained to the Order, and now they were going to return to the place Komui and Lenalee had grown up. The only piece of squandered hope Komui had held on to those long years: that home would be waiting for them when the war ended.

To say Reever wasn't a little bit nervous about the whole thing would be a bold faced lie. He already felt like he was intruding on something deeply personal, even with the invitation…But still, he had other things to worry about at the moment…to be more specific…he had the hand somehow super glued to a box of Komui's experiments to be concerned (more like panicked) about!

…

The day had progressed in a something of a daze for Reever, peppered with sparks of pain and embarrassment. After breakfast, he had finished packing their non-essential items into the remaining boxes, cleaned a few of the rooms to near sparkling, and ran a few last minute errands to close off his former position as lecturer at the local university. While this may sound most productive for a days work, one had to also note that he had accumulated several cardboard cuts to his arms, been bitten by a wayward, previously un-activated robot (he hoped he didn't need stitches or a shot for that one), had accidently sprayed cleaning solution in his eyes, and had almost been run over by a carriage when he was bumped off the busy sidewalk.

Accident prone didn't seem to do his current situation justice (more like suicidally cursed) so after a late lunch (which he promptly choked on), Reever clothed himself in as much protective equipment he could without looking ridiculous, and traipsed towards the last of the rooms that had been cleared by Komui and Lenalee. Surprisingly he survived the first two with barely an incident and was feeling quite cheerful as he made his way towards the final room he had to clean before the day was through. The thing that made this room different was the fact that there were three small steps halfway down the hall that lead to its entrance, and they were deceptively steep when one wasn't used to taking this route through the house.

Reever, of course, knew about these stairs since Komui had fallen down them when they first moved in, but that didn't deter him from almost skipping down them so he could finish, eat, and then hopefully sleep this horrid day away…and he almost made it as well.

The key word in this statement being _almost_.

On his way from the second to last stair, Reever's foot slipped slightly to the right and he was left doing a demented version of chicken dance as he pin wheeled his arms in an attempt to regain his balance. The only problem was, as Reever was well versed in physics and knew very well, his forward motion would not be halted by any effort (plus he was having a really crap day). So he clenched his eyes closed and braced for impact. His only thought on the way down was that it would be nice if he knocked himself out so he didn't have to suffer any further damage that day (after the impending concussion of course).

This thought (though more like a heart-felt wish by now), however, would go un-granted as he was jerked away from the ground by a hand grasping the back of his shirt at the neckline. Though he was grateful for the save, he now had the slight problem of being strangled by his own clothes. Croaking somewhat like a manic rendition of a strangled frog, he tried to communicate to his rescuer the need to breathe via a rather fetching blue complexion and spastic arm signals. A light chuckle accompanied this effort and he was pulled back to sit down on the stairs, drawing lungfuls of air into his mouth. After drawing the necessary oxygen he needed, and rubbing at his now sore neck, he looked up to see the larger Lee staring down at him with an amused twinkle in his eye. Not sure whether to be offended at the amusement of his suffering or thankful at being saved from doing an Australian version of Humpty Dumpty with his head, he settled on a strained smile and then decided to sulk at his misfortune.

Hearing a strangled laugh this time he opened his mouth to say a rather abrupt and snarly 'shut up' before a hand was offered by the man above him to help him off the ground. Taking it without hesitation, he hissed slightly as his cuts were enveloped with the warmth of the others hand around his. Angry now at his almost wimpy expression of what were very minor injuries (which stung like hell!), Reever quickly removed his hand from Komui's grasp to hide it in his pocket but was foiled by the man grabbing his wrist with his other hand.

Looking up to now see concern in his former Supervisors eyes he resigned himself to further teasing but was surprised to hear a soft, "What happened?" instead.

Shuffling from foot to foot he awkwardly growled out a 'bad day' before falling silent once again. The other man only frowned at that and quickly pulled up his sleeves to reveal the cardboard cuts, a nasty bruise on his left arm and a slightly burned wrist to his eyes. Taking this all in with a cursory glance while also noting the bloodshot and red-rimmed eyes, the other man's expression darkened and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the hand clasped between his own.

Reever, being the intelligent person he was, put two and two together (they did look pretty bad when you added them all collectively) and was amused enough to laugh out loud at his friend's conclusion, while internally being touched that Komui cared enough to get worried about him being hurt. The startled expression on his face sent Reever into another fit of, no they were _not_ giggles! And he leaned on the wall behind him as the days events melted away. Finally taking pity on the stunned man across from him he gently pried the fingers off his wrist and ran through his catalogue of injuries, in chronological order, until he finished with his slightly red neck with what could almost be called a flourish.

Silently waiting for a reaction, Reever lightly rocked from his toes to his heels and back again, feeling slightly giddy and almost proud that he could stun the man with his own stupidity (since the Chinese seemed to have an even worse penchant for 'accidents' and disasters). Finally his patience was rewarded with a carefully blank look and a rather snide comment of "I never knew you were such a klutz, Reever." This was soon followed by a slight shake of Komui's head and the beginnings of a grin.

Smiling back at him, he was surprised when the man recaptured his wrist (the unburned one) and started dragging him back up the hall.

"What are you doing Komui?" he asked rather exasperatedly, "I haven't finished cleaning yet!" growling out the last section of his protest with an almost pout forming on his face, he stumbled after the man.

"To get your battle scars cleaned and bound" the man replied with ample mischief lacing his voice. "We can't have our valiant warrior falling to something like an infected paper cut can we?"

Groaning at this proclamation (cause that is how he said it!) Reever resigned himself to a future of stinging alcohol and first aid administered via a giant pointy drill. Somehow, he almost wished it was someone, _anyone_, else that had come to his rescue.

...

**To Be Continued** **in Chapter 4 - Travelling**

* * *

**A/N** Thank you so much for reading and thank you to all those reviewers who waited so long for me to post this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner...Please tell me what you think!


	4. Travelling

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** The war is over and everyone has gone their separate ways…everyone except a certain purple-haired psychotic scientist, his beloved sister, and an unfortunate overworked former science section leader. How will Reever survive living with the man that has been the bane of his existence for over ten years? Read to find out!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin*

Thank you to blumarshin for filling the gaps that fail to make it from my head to the paper and making sense of my nonsense. Love you dear!

Thank you also to those patient people who have waited for this chapter and who reviewed the last one. Solo Loco Ellingson-Rose, The Light's Refrain, Mikatsuki-no-Arashi and Momsportif your loyalty and love for this couple is impeccable. Thanks.

…

**Chapter Four: Travelling**

Komui, for the first time in ages was having the time of his life. Headquarters had finally declared the Black Order's business concluded and he had been released just three days prior. Understandably excited he'd spent the next two lining up their mode of transport whilst an excited Lenalee bounced around and a frantic Reever cursed and packed. Hopefully the three of them would be able to relax on their trip and then settle themselves in China; even if it was four months later then he'd originally planned.

It was just this morning that they had bid gloomy London a cheery goodbye and boarded the same train that the 'Cross retrieval team' had ridden years prior, on the way to a ship that would take them directly from the port in Mogadishu, Somalia to Shanghai. Admittedly he'd planned a little bit of a longer route than the journey really dictated; however, he'd wanted to see some of the places his little sister had visited before settling completely. Lenalee had seemed happy enough to explore the towns she'd been too busy to enjoy on missions and Reever, though he didn't comment, had a gleam of curiosity in his eyes when he'd informed them of their travel plans yesterday. The only thing that Komui had forgotten to factor in was his innate ability to cause mischief wherever he went, though he was certainly reminded when they made their first stop.

…

The inn of the first town they stayed in was a clean, tidy and welcoming establishment with everything one would ask for in a good nights sleep and stay…except for three vacant rooms that is. Needless to say, his former section chief had spent a rather miserable night sleeping on the floor after Komui kicked him out of the bed they were forced to share. Bleary eyed and grumpy was the other man when they boarded the train the next morning, even if Komui had apologised a million times between when he woke up and breakfast (though he suspected his barely suppressed grin was really the cause of the mans ire).

The next town was a little bit better in comparison, though Komui did manage to knock a cage of birds from its rather precarious perch on stall when they visited the markets. He hadn't realised that birds liked Reever's hair so much until they all took roost on the poor man's head when they escaped the cage door. Next was the porridge landing in the other mans lap (which was an accident I swear!), the chilli sauce mix up (he'd mistaken chilli for tomato) and the unfortunate massacre of Reever's tie when Komui had tried to be a gentleman and close the door after the Australia therefore shutting his tie in the carriage and yanking it from the mans neck. He was getting the impression that Reever wasn't really enjoying the trip as much as he was and that made him a little sad, until it was his turn to fall victim to his own little personality quirk.

…

When they made it to the harbour in Somalia early in the evening the three of them had eagerly made their way to the ship and up the gangplank to their 'home' for the next two to three weeks. It was half way up the plank that he slipped and since he had followed the other two the only thing they could do was gape in surprise as he fell to the side, suitcase clasped tightly in hand, and into the water. Spluttering and coughing the water from his lungs, he looked above to see two concerned faces peering down at him from the side of the ship (they had run the rest of the way up to the deck to better see where he landed), and waved to let them know he was alright. Both Lenalee and Reever had sighed in relief at his safety and then proceeded to laugh themselves silly as the crew fished him from the water and flopped him onto the deck.

Standing there in his wet clothes and feeling quite the idiot, Komui was thankful when the Australian took pity on him and offered to lend him clothes when they found their cabin. He'd booked Reever and himself in a room together (thankfully with two beds not one) and Lenalee by herself next door, so when they located their quarters his sister gave him quick goodnight before disappearing into her cabin. He entered his own cabin and made a bee line for the shower, though he hadn't noticed it straight away, he was rather cold after his unplanned swim in the ocean. He exited the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed only in a towel to find the Australian shuffling through his suitcase before turning to pass him a pile of clothes.

"Here," he said quietly, holding out a pair of neatly folded pale blue cotton pyjamas, not quite meeting his eyes as he added, "you can't really sleep in wet clothes."

Accepting the garments with a grateful smile, Komui made his way over to the small bathroom and changed out of the towel and into the pj's. Turning to silently scrutinize his reflection in the mirror, he found that they actually didn't look half bad on him considering their slight difference in height and build. They were quite comfortable to wear as well. The soft blue fabric was warm and actually smelt like Reever.

Up until now, he'd never really noticed that Reever has a unique smell, but standing in the bathroom in his clothes certainly awakened the possibility to him. Lightly sniffing the collar of shirt he identified the scent of ink, crisp white paper, chemicals and coffee. While these smells were not usually a desirable combination to normal people, Komui felt himself relax into the good memories that accompanied these scents like teaching Lenalee to write, making aeroplanes out of paperwork to fly at random victims (read victim as 'Reever'), Reever's bewildered expression when one of his concoctions burnt off his eyebrows and lastly a familiar coffee cup filled to the brim and snugly seated next his right arm that mysteriously appeared whenever he couldn't get out of the office to get his own. Yep, Reever smelt good, and he couldn't help the wry smile that accompanied this thought as he returned to the small room he shared with his former section chief.

Smiling in thanks and dearly missing the familiar weight of his beloved beret, he sat nervously on the corner of his bed, not quite ready to fall asleep and looking for anything better to do with his time.

Glancing around the room with an air of boredom, he noticed that his 'cabin-buddy' was still dressed in his everyday clothes and lay dosing on his own bed with barely concealed exhaustion. He did suppose he'd put the poor Australian through enough grief throughout their journey to make the man tired, and didn't miss the light glare sent in his direction as the other men shifted to get more comfortable.

Grinning with the prospect of having something to entertain himself with, Komui sing-songed Reever's name a couple of times before asking,

"Why aren't you getting changed too?" when he had the Australian's attention.

The man of interest scowled lightly before sighing out a barely audible, "That is my only pair of pyjamas." Slightly shocked and maybe a tiny bit amused, Komui opened his mouth to offer them back but was cut off when the voice continued on with a, "I don't need them back either, Lord knows I've had enough practice sleeping in my clothes before…" trailing off with a wistful look in his eye the man closed his eyes in an attempt to finish the conversation, before whispering what Komui thought was a, "plus they look good on you," to himself.

"Thank you so much Reever-honcho!" Komui exclaimed with ample glee and underlining gratitude, "I'll borrow them until my clothes are dry again."

The only response was a lethargic wave in his direction as the man turned on his side to face the wall.

Boredom redirected to the only thing of interest in the small room, Komui continued to watch the other man with intense concentration as he plotted how to keep the other awake for the rest of the night (if he couldn't sleep than neither could Reever!). He was interrupted mid plan, however, when the Australian let out a growl of frustration and rolled over to glare at him in a rather scary fashion.

"Will you stop looking at me and go to sleep!" he hissed with ample venom.

Komui gave a rather theatrical shudder before whining back, "But I'm not sleepy!" with the addition of, "and I miss my hat!" to complete the dark transformation of the man across from him.

The Australian growled again before jumping off his bed, kneeling on the floor, and pulling out his suitcase. Komui secretly wondered of he was going to strangle him with one of his spare belts but was instead surprised to see a familiar scrap of white material clasped in the mans hands when he turned to face him.

"Isn't that my…" he started uncertainly before the man walked up to him and jammed, what he now recognised as on of his white berets, rather violently on top of his head.

"There! You got your damn hat! No way in hell am I singing you a lullaby, so just shut up and go the heck to sleep!" The man snarled before stomping back to his bed and throwing himself down onto the sheets.

Komui experienced a somewhat rare instance of speechlessness before an evil smirk crawled onto his face. Jumping to his feet, he bounced over to the Australian (who was trying but failing to ignore him) and started poking him on the shoulder.

"Hey Reever, why did you have one of my hats in your suitcase?" he practically sang as he continued to poke the poor unfortunate soul.

This persisted for quite some time until the man below growled yet again (seriously was he going to eat him or something?) and spat out, "You left it at the Order and I was going to give it back to you…okay!"

Backing up a little bit, Komui processed this before letting out a slightly timid, "But that was four months ago, why now?"

The Australian avoided his eyes after this question and let out an almightily sigh before muttering an, "I don't know," in return.

Well this was just getting a little too awkward for the Chinese man, so Komui bounced back to his bed and decided to break the silence with his stupidity.

"Awwwww, Reever kept my hat…Reever loves me."

Reever, he could tell, was less then impressed with this statement and anger ignited in the depths of his eyes, turning the crystal blue into a stormy grey. Sitting up from his bed, he faced Komui directly and icily said, "Says the one who has over thirty of my lab coats hidden among his boxes of horror."

A long, awkward silence followed this proclamation, in which Komui's mind proceeded to work a million miles an hour in an attempt to formulate a proper response to this unexpected statement of truth. He wanted to ask how he found out, why he was mad, but among a thousand other questions the first thing that made it out of his mouth was a quiet, "It was proof."

Raising his eyes from the hands twisting creases into he pyjama top, he tried to gauge the mans reaction and saw wavering anger, confusion and curiosity before a lightly prompting, "Proof?" was echoed back at him.

Shuffling back to rest against the wall and hunching in on himself, Komui gathered a steadying breath before replying, "It was proof that you existed."

Now only confusion remained in the other mans eyes and he pushed aside his growing discomfort to better convey his message.

"Everyday I spent at the order I sent people to their deaths, and everyday I memorised the new faces while causality reports came in on the old ones. You know how high the fatality rate was for people on the field Reever, so you should understand how precious it was to still have those familiar faces as a constant presence in everyday life. While it's true I didn't notice it at first, you became part of the group of people I have come to hold dear _because_ they are still with me. Pessimism isn't something I want to admit to, but after I realised you were one of those important people, I decided to preserve some proof that you existed, so that if you ever did vanish, I would have something else other then my memories to remember you by…"

Speech now finished, Komui resolutely locked his gaze on the floor, fighting down the embarrassed flush that threatened to engulf his cheeks, and waited nervously for the Australian's reaction to his confession. When the silence finally got too much he tentatively pulled his gaze up to meet the other mans eyes and was startled to see acceptance, understanding…and was that happiness? In the other mans face. Relaxing slightly, Komui continued to search his former section chief for any signs of the previous anger or irritation that the man had displayed earlier. Seeing none, he lightly chuckled and slumped his shoulder in an 'I'm glad that's over' gesture before lying down on his back and staring at the ceiling.

This time a comfortable silence engulfed the room, and Komui found himself counting the stains on the roof as he slowly drifted off to sleep. He glanced towards the man across from him and was startled to actually meet the Australian's own eyes. Blinking somewhat confusedly back at the man he waited for the other to respond to his statement and was rewarded shortly after.

"It's the same for me."

Raising his eyebrow inquisitively and tipping his head to the side (think puppy dog) to prompt an expansion on the aforementioned statement. Seeing the man sigh in resignation he sat up and met his gaze with something akin to determination set in his shoulders

"The reason why I kept your hat….it was the same as yours."

Blinking stupidly now, he found a happy grin starting to tug at the corner of his mouth as the man continued on.

"Like it or not, you guys, both the exorcists and the scientists, became a surrogate family for me. Even though people were dying, I found some solace in the fact that my new family would be there in the morning to face hell along with me."

Now smiling softly at the shared sentiment they each held, Komui couldn't help but curiously ask, "Where did you get that hat anyway?"

Reever gave a wry grin as he closed his eyes to remember.

"It was just after the invasion of the old Order came to an end. You insisted that you visit ever one of the survivors in the infirmary…Do you remember that?"

Nodding in affirmation, Komui tried to block out the images that flashed in his minds eye as he recalled the whole horrid incident.

"You came and visited me as well and fell asleep at the bedside. I don't think you were there for long but you really needed the sleep so I left you there. Then your stupid golem came and called you into an emergency meeting and you left in a hurry. I didn't realise you had left your hat on the bedside until I woke up again…" trailing off with an absent minded shrug the Australian lay back down on his bed with a wry smile.

"That was one of the worst times of my life, and yet I'd never felt more at home."

Blinking owlishly at the man, Komui couldn't help but nod in agreement with that last statement. Sure the attack on the order had been demoralizing and fraught with causalities, although the ability of the survivors to band together cemented them not only as a resilient faction of the Black Order, but also a tight knit family. Sending another smile in Reever's direction he lightly replied.

"So that's where my hat ran off to. I have to admit I felt rather strange without it when I realised it was gone. Thank you for returning it to me," he couldn't help but add a rather teasing, "even if it took a couple of months." Before laying back down and pulling the covers to his chin.

"Says the person that has yet to return even _one_ of my missing lab coats," the other replied wryly.

Komui couldn't help but snort at that statement. The other man never did pull his punches when it came to Komui and his actions. It was one of the many qualities he had come to appreciate in the younger man. Nothing like a snarky but true comment to take the fun out of mischief and ground you in reality.

Rolling his eyes at this thought, he stifled a yawn that threatened to engulf him.

Turning on his side to face the other man he muttered a quiet 'goodnight Reever' before rolling onto his back and slowly surrendering himself to sleep. It had been one hell of a day, lord knows he needed it.

The last thing he heard before he succumbed to the pull of sleep was the soft reply of,

"Goodnight Komui. Sleep well…idiot."

**To Be Continued in Interlude 1 - Camping**

* * *

**A/N **Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry that it took me so long to update but to make up for it I have another chapter written up which I will post when I get back from camping over Easter. Always awesome to hear from readers so tell me what you think!


	5. Interlude: Camping

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** The war is over and everyone has gone their separate ways…everyone except a certain purple-haired psychotic scientist, his beloved sister, and an unfortunate overworked former science section leader. How will Reever survive living with the man that has been the bane of his existence for over ten years? Read to find out!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin.*

Thank you to Solo Loco Ellingson-Rose & Mikatsuki-no-Arashi for reviewing the last chapter (it's awesome to here from you guys) and also to blumarshin for always reading my fangirl fluff *grin*

A/N As promised, I am back from camping with a chapter with the same name! Just a quick note though. The following story happens within 'The Little things (that make me want to kill you)' arc however they fall before chapter one, during the time in which the war was still in progress. They act as a background essence as well as something akin to flashbulb memories that tie Reever and Komui together. I hope you enjoy!

…

**Interlude 1: Camping**

Where was that damn Supervisor? Reever couldn't help but growl to himself as he made his third trip around the Black Order. He would find him this time…the stupid Asian wouldn't be able to escape his wrath by the time he got his hands around that snakes neck….

If you couldn't tell, Reever was just a little bit miffed at the moment. A tiny bit frustrated, and a smidgen stressed. Oh hell, who are we kidding? He was pissed as all hell, and as usual, it was all _his_ fault. If it wasn't for the fact he needed the papers clutched in his hands signed today, he would've already given up by now!

Gritting his teeth Reever stalked back to his Supervisor's office. While he appreciated the other man's concern with keeping him fit by hiding from him (NOT!), he was just too damned tired to play hide and seek with the sister-complex at the moment and instead decided that stakeout was the best option.

Lo and behold, when he made it to the pair of doors, which he threw open hard enough to bounce back off the walls, he was confronted with the infuriating sight of the man of the hour, sipping coffee and quite composedly signing documents. Resisting the urge to throw a tantrum, Reever silently fumed as he waited for the Supervisor to acknowledge his presence. Several minutes of teeth grinding later, the man finally looked up with a surprised air and exclaimed, "Reever-honcho, where have you been? I've been looking for those papers everywhere!"

Well that was the last straw for the poor Australian. After almost a week of non stop work spattered with snatched hours of sleep, he was far from the tolerant and rational man he usually was, so he did what all people did when they reached their limit…he snapped…and he snapped in a big way.

"WHERE HAVE _I _BEEN? YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE ME SUPERVISOR BUT I HAVE JUST WASTED THREE HOURS LOOKING FOR YOU!!!"

Taking a deep breathe to prepare for the next stage of his onslaught. He took a moment to savour the expression on his 'superiors' face as he let it all out.

God it felt good.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR STUPIDITY I COULD HAVE HAD MY WORK DONE BY NOW AND GOTTEN SOME SLEEP…BUT NO! I HAD TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK WITH A SISTER-COMPLEX WHO IS ADDICTED TO COFFEE AND HAS BIZARRE ACESSORY CHOICES!"

(A/N: aka slippers, beret and coffee cup with pink bunny…just to start)

Somewhat wilting now that he had vented the frustration and irritation at the man successfully, he strode up to the desk, slammed the papers on the surprisingly clean surface, and turned to retreat back to his never ending pile of responsibilities that awaited him back at his own desk. He was stopped, however, by the whispered apology that followed after him.

"Sorry"

Pausing and then turning back to face the man, he took in the sincere expression, and felt his gut lurch in something almost akin to guilt before nodding his acceptance of the man's last utterance.

Sighing loudly, he revised his previous course and instead collapsed on to the couch situated in front of the Supervisors desk, allowing himself a minute to recover before he had to face the paperwork hell in the other room. He was frankly a little bit sick of the stark white paper, the ink stains on his hands, and the frequent miracles he was required to perform when he resurrected his colleges from the dead to finish their work. Raising his head to meet the other man's eyes he found the same exhaustion housed in those dark orbs and felt his shoulders slump in resignation. Stealing himself he uttered a quick apology back and then settled back in the couch to await the Supervisors reply.

"I'm sorry too…It's been a long week."

Feeling the weight of the assessing gaze Komui was now using in the Australian's direction, Reever felt himself tensing up and almost jumped out of his skin when the man told him that he was wired and needed some rest. Chuckling weakly in response, Reever couldn't help but wryly reply 'that sleep wasn't an option when there was still work to be done'. Grinning half heartedly, the Australian allowed his eyes to wander around the desk until he spotted a report lacking the usual Black Order insignia. Tilting his head to get a better look at the paper, he read a few words before turning a confused and questioning look at the man when the content made no sense…was it some kind of new code they were using?

Noticing the direction of Reever's gaze, Komui also slumped in turn and shifted in his chair, before picking up the sheet of paper to show more clearly to his subordinate.

"This is my 'To do' list after the war is finished."

Staring blankly back at the man, Reever parroted back the statement whilst simultaneously re-reading the list. With the new information added into the equation, he quickly understood what the abstract list meant and couldn't help but scan down the columns in curiosity.

A lot of the activities were insanely simple, or almost mundane, and opening his mouth to say so Reever stopped himself when he saw the expression written across the other man's face. It wasn't just exhaustion that lined his every gesture, but stress, sadness and a faint glint of hope. It was the face of a man much older than the twenty-nine years he had lived and Reever found himself wanting to help bring some of the vitality back to the tired shell sitting across from him. Scrutinizing the 'to-do' list a little bit closer his eyes focused on one word and he got an idea. An insanely lame and slightly childish idea, but as we had already established he hadn't had any sleep…rationality had nothing to do with it.

Trying, but failing, to hide the smile that slowly stretched across his face, Reever hopped up onto his feet, and muttered a quick, "I'll be back in a moment," before heading out the double doors to retrieve the items he needed. Returning quickly with two of the blankets he usually kept in his desk, he walked right up to his Supervisor, looking him directly in the eyes, and stated, with all seriousness,

"We're going camping."

The silence that followed this statement was observed by one rather pleased Australian man and a stunned Chinese. After watching the other man gape like a goldfish for what had to be a very amusing couple of seconds, Reever took pity on the other man and broke the silence.

"I'm not suggesting we run off and forget about the Order or our work, that would be irresponsible, but you can still do one of the things on your list without even leaving your office."

Travelling to the other side of the desk, he pulled the now confused man from his chair, moved to the side, and sat him back down in it.

"Just give me a minute and I'll have it set up."

Reever gently placed the blankets on the other mans lap and then turned to his task. Looking at what he had to work with, Reever decide the best course of action and then proceeded to drag the couch that usually inhabited the space in front of the Supervisors desk to the other side. When he had the right distance apart, he walked back to the Supervisor and retrieved one of the blankets, draping it from the surface of the desk to the back of the longue, creating something like a canopy. Standing back to admire his handiwork, he grabbed the other blanket and lay it down underneath the makeshift tent before turning back to the man with a triumphant look pasted on his face.

"There you go…your very own tent!"

Smiling at the now flabbergasted Supervisor, Reever shrugged and then offered a hand to help the man unglue from his chair. Pulling him up lightly when the other finally took it, he tugged him over to the 'tent' and gestured in sweeping arc.

"It's not the best, and I don't know about you, but I'm really tired at the moment and I could sleep anywhere"

Dropping down to his knees, he crawled under the roof of his tent and lay down with his head where Komui's feet usually lived. Yawning tiredly, he absently noted how soft the floor was (though with the amount of paperwork that littered Komui's office it really wasn't a big surprise) and found himself drifting slowly off to sleep. Screw the order, the world wasn't going to end if he got a decent eight hours sleep for once.

Reever was almost completely gone when he felt a slight shift in the papers that now made his bed and turned in time to see the Supervisor settle next to him. Even laying down the man looked exhausted, still it seemed like he had enough energy to shoot a grateful smile in the Australian's direction before finally succumbing to the undeniable call of much needed sleep. The change was almost immediate, as the lines that permanently bunched the mans brow eased back into a smooth arc. Reever couldn't help but smile at the fact that his idea had worked, even as he slowly started to drift towards oblivion.

At some point it did cross his mind that the paperwork had never been signed, but frankly, he was well past the point of caring. Tomorrow he'd tie the Supervisor to the chair and make sure he finished ever last one of the documents, but that was tomorrow…right now he would sleep.

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**A/N** Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much I enjoyed writing it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has made tents out of furniture in the past *grin* A quick 'help' to the people who read this fic as well. I need some nicknames that Reever & Komui can call each other, the ones I use are getting rather repetitive...so review if you have or suggestion or even if you just liked the chapter. Reever/Komui forever!


	6. The End

**The Little things (That make me want to kill you)**

**By Sarahfreak**

**Summary:** The war is over and everyone has gone their separate ways…everyone except a certain purple-haired psychotic scientist, his beloved sister, and an unfortunate overworked former science section leader. How will Reever survive living with the man that has been the bane of his existence for over ten years? Read to find out!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -Man or any of the characters here…just the twisted little plot involving my favourite couple *grin.*

**A/N **Well I've finally come to the point that most readers dread to read…The Little Things (That make me want to kill you) has come to an end. Though I did still have some stories left to tell with these two, I found that I've fallen out of synch with their characters and out of grace with the show. While it's true that I never finished the China chapter, I wanted to leave the few people who have read this, one last chapter of which I always planned to write as the end as a sort of apology and thank you for your support. With any luck, I may come back and fill in the gaps between this chapter and the last one posted but it is more then likely I will not. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you enjoy it!

…

**Chapter Last: Growing Old (Together)**

The man sighed softly to himself as he relaxed into the chair situated in front of the softly glowing hearth. It had been another glorious day, if not a little trying, as he went about his usual routine using what energy he had to spare from his tired limbs. There was a perceptible spattering of grey at his temples, and laugh lines now graced his face at regular intervals. He'd grown old before he'd even noticed, living in his little utopia with Komui in China, and he wouldn't trade a second of the last thirty years for anything in the world.

Reever, a now respectable seventy years old, shifted to a more comfortable position in his overstuffed recliner before he turned to watch his companion of over forty years potter around the kitchen with his bizarre brand of grace. Time had been kind to Komui, though he now sported a crown of grey hair and his own share of wrinkles, nothing had been able to extinguish the mischievous twinkle in his eyes that he loved so much about the man. They had first come together as superior and subordinate, then brothers in arms, and finally as couple.

When and how they'd made the transition from family to more than that had seemed so natural for the pair that no one even blinked when they decided to tell their family and friends. One small ceremony (though unofficial) with some of their former science department and the surviving exorcists that could make it and they were bound to each other for the rest of their lives; Lives which they had spent in the pursuit of knowledge, peace and happiness.

Don't get him wrong, that doesn't mean they hadn't had their differences. Reever distinctly remembers one such occasion when he threw one of Komui's inventions through a screen door in the middle of an argument but they had always managed to find a way to resolution, via the destruction of said inventions or making up, neither was particularly picky about the method as long as they found their way back to each other.

Lenalee had lived with them for five years before she found someone brave enough to ask for her hand in marriage. The fact that he stood up to a mini version of Komurin (sharp implements included) when he asked Komui and Reever's permission was still a source of both amusement and respect when Reever thought back on his life, which he had plenty of time to do now that his limbs had started to seize up on him.

He now had three grandchildren, a comfortable home, a small garden out back and the most precious person he'd ever had the fortune to meet coming towards him with dinner steaming in a bowl, what more could he ask from life?

Smiling in thanks at the man standing to his left, he took the offered food and inhaled the rich scent of stew, one of his favourite dishes, shuffling again so he kept the other in his line of sight. Today was a special day for them. Thirty years together as a couple, even longer as friends, and he still couldn't pull his gaze away from the strange but loveable creature that sat across from him. Snorting wryly he scooped some of the meal into his mouth, noting the slight shake in the others hand and the fatigue Komui's face. It had gotten harder for Komui to complete everyday tasks when his hands became arthritic but he always insisted on completing his share of the chores despite his condition. What he did to deserve this ray of light in his life, he wasn't quite sure, but he counted himself blessed everyday he woke up beside him.

Finishing his meal in a comfortable silence, Reever, stood slowly and shuffled over to the others chair to take his dishes, placing a steadying hand on Komui's shoulder as he leant down, depositing a soft kiss to his forehead on the way to the kitchen. He paused at the threshold of the next room and uttered a well worn (but no less genuine) phrase and smiled over his should as he received it in return. Really, it couldn't get much better then this.

"Love you, Komui."

"Love you too, Reever."

...

**A/N Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I really do love Reever/Komui and I want to thank those who have read/liked/reviewed my stories in the past. With any luck I'll pick -Man up again and come back, but in the possible event of this not happening: Thank you blumarshin for editing, thank you for the favourites, thank you for the alerts/hits and thank you for loving them like I do *grin* Sarahfreak signing out.**


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